Watch Adam take the Ice Bucket Challenge

By
JOSHUA BUTLER

Temperatures were as low as 12 degrees on Thursday morning but that didn't stop Adam Regal dousing himself in ice cold water.

Adam Regal and his wife Kylie accept the Ice Bucket Challenge with help from their children Ciara, 4, and Ajai, 8. Picture: ANDY ZAKELI

Temperatures were as low as 12 degrees on Thursday morning but that didn't stop Adam Regal dousing himself in ice cold water.

Mr Regal set his teeth chattering for charity, taking part in the Ice Bucket Challenge phenomenon sweeping the globe. An awareness campaign for motor neurone disease, celebrities from Justin Bieber to Bill Gates and Oprah Winfrey have taken the challenge to raise money and awareness for the condition.

Participants upload a video online of themselves pouring a bucket of ice water over their heads, and dare friends to do the same. Mr Regal, diagnosed with motor neurone disease in December, took the challenge after being nominated by friends.

"It's brilliant. There was little being done for MND before, it wasn't getting the awareness and attention it deserved, but the challenge is great," Mr Regal said.

"It's all about raising awareness, and with awareness comes funding."

MND is a terminal disease that attacks the nerve system. It is a degenerative condition that leads to muscle atrophy and difficulty speaking or breathing.

Motor Neurone Disease Australia has received $30,000 in the last two weeks, much more than the same time in previous years, and donations in the United States are in the millions. Mr Regal, whose father and uncle both had MND, said that aside from money aiding research, raising the profile of the disease was important.

"A lot of people don't know what it is. It isn't as rare as people think, even my mates didn't know what it was," he said.

Mr Regal's family and friends are raising money of their own, with their Regal Regiment team to enter the Sydney Running Festival in September. They have raised more than $18,000 online for motor neurone research. See give.everydayhero.com/au/regalregiment to donate.